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Owner's Manual No More

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
Took delivery of a new buggy today. Probably should have bought the lease I've had for 2 years, but got used to having a new ride during the decades at that Car Company.

After the kid had driven off in the old one, I set about putting the new one back in order. Sunglasses, maps, face masks, tire gauge, et al. Then went to program the various features that I've come to rely on .. keyless entry code, garage door opener, liftgate limit so doesn't hit the garage door, etc.

There is no owners manual in the glovebox. The only time I've ever used them is when setting up a new ride. Feeling a victim of ageism I called the dealer, she very gently informed me that the owners manual is on the screen on the dashboard.

When did this happen? I absolutely hate having to scroll through other old fools' UBoob videos to set up a garage door opener.

Ok, rant over, I'll probably not outlive this lease & everything now works .. but still ..
 

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
What would absolutely crack me up, is if there's a section in the digital manual dedicated to having a dead battery, or if the dashboard screen wont work. :lol:

I had similar thoughts while trying to deal without it. And yes, just went and got in, powered the vehicle on, and looked .. there is a section about jumping the battery .. but to find it there's the annoying onscreen keyboard to deal with. But the good news is it hasn't died so far today of Day One
 
I have a number of older (than me) friends who if you tell them the info they need is only available on the internet you may as well tell them it's on the moon. They will do without. We need technology sidewalk ramps.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I'm an old guy, and I'm tech savvy.
But it's nice to have a cars owners manual in paper to keep in the car "just in case".
Just in case you have a battery problem.
Just in case you're in an area with poor cell/internet access.
Just in case you need to run in and grab some bulbs of the right type.
I'm sure there are other scenarios.
 

cleanshaved

I’m stumped
I'm an old guy, and I'm tech savvy.
But it's nice to have a cars owners manual in paper to keep in the car "just in case".
Just in case you have a battery problem.
Just in case you're in an area with poor cell/internet access.
Just in case you need to run in and grab some bulbs of the right type.
I'm sure there are other scenarios.

Being able to flick through the pages sitting in your armchair with a cuppa would be a plus for me.

I often download a online version to my computer for a appliance I will need to refer to for settings in the future.
While not a paper version per se, you could always print it from that file and make your own little booklet.
That does rely on an online version being available to download.
 

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
I have a number of older (than me) friends who if you tell them the info they need is only available on the internet you may as well tell them it's on the moon. They will do without. We need technology sidewalk ramps.

Well, I'm old. But I do use the interwebs, like as in B&B. But the online answer isn't always the best. Phil points out some limitations, as does Chris. I always flipped through the manuals when I got a new car, and promptly relegated it to the glove box (yep, I have spare gloves in mine).

Kinda hard to hold that on-dash manual in your left hand while you program the keyless entry or set the travel limit at the rear liftgate. I'm sure there's a bean counter somewhere who got promoted for the cost savings from not supplying a holdable paper manual.
 
When i purchased my mirrorless camera and after opening box and got the battery charging, I looked for the manual and all I found was a 7 page leaflet that explained almost nothing except how to charge the battery and turn camera off and on. Last line on leaflet was "see complete owners manual at ***camera.com". The online manual is 800+ pages!! So now when out shooting I have to look at my tiny phone screen to look up what I want to do. It is the most annoying and frustrating experience. Hopefully some third party publishes a paper version soon.
 
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